Issue Position: College Affordability

Issue Position

Paying for college is harder than it used to be. Over the last five years, the combined cost of tuition, fees, and room and board at four-year public colleges and universities increased by 42 percent. Students and families are struggling to pay these costs. College graduates should be leaving school with unlimited possibilities before them, but these choices are increasingly limited by student loan debt, and our nation is in danger of losing a generation of public servants.

I am working to ensure that all students can receive a college education without saddling themselves with a mountain of debt. This means lowering student loan interest rates and raising the Pell Grant. It also means overturning a 2005 change in the law that protects privately issued student loans during bankruptcy. We must also address the rising expenses of higher education, including the price of textbooks. Increasing federal financial aid to students will be irrelevant if the cost of college continues to outpace those gains. Bright, hard-working students deserve the opportunity to go as far as their talents will take them. We must ensure that they are not held back by the high cost of higher education.

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